Well, once again we come to the end of a book!
I know I missed a couple of posts along the way but I just wanted to share a couple of things that we discussed from the last few chapters.
Luther & Katie's Marriage: in reading this book you get a picture of a happy marriage.
Luther often speaks of Katie in his letters in very affectionate language, and speaks of her as a pious wife and precious gift. pg 63 'His 'dear rib' was 'gentle, obedient and kind in all things far beyond my hopes. I would not exchange my poverty with her for all the riches of Croesus with out her... I would not part from my Katie, no not to gain all France and Venice... '
It also appears that Katie fit the pattern of a 'proverbs 31' women too. Luther also says on pg 63 He thanked God for a 'pious and faithful wife' to whom he could safely trust his heart. Like the the husband in Provers 31:11 Luther's heart could safely trust his wife. She also is a very industrious women, managing the house, the garden, the children, guests and their finances. I love the way Luther describes Katie hiding the vase he intended to give away! pg 72
It seems whilst Katie was obedient she also spoke her mind and took charge, Luther affectionately refers to her as his lord pg 69 'He called her 'my lord Katie' or on occasion pronounced her name Kette, German for 'chain'. He said that if he wanted an obedient wife he would have to carve one for himself out of stone.'
Scripture alone: Luthers struggle gives new meaning to the term 'scripture alone'. For him it truly was scripture alone. Being the man God used to bring scripture and truth to light in his dark age, he didn't have the benefit of the mountains of literature and biblical scholors and theologians we have today. People looked to him and trusted him to get it right. Doubt assailed him pg 78 with this question, 'Are you alone right?... what if you are wrong and misleading others? The conclusion; that scripture must be at the root of all we believe. pg 80 'So in final analysis he must be rooted in the scripture' Scripture alone.
Understanding the depths of sin: Today we find christianity often focusing on the 'love' of God, much more than his righteousness, judgment and justice. Unfortunately tipping the scales to only see his 'Love' with out the balance of Gods other attributes means that we can't understand hell. How could a loving God send people to hell?
People think hell is harsh because the don't see the depths of our sin. If we understood more the depths of our sin, and how it offends God, we'd love God more, and appreciate his merciful salvation. We would see how glorious God grace is, and how wonderful the gift of salvation!
